We’ve been updating you on the Broncos ownership saga, and the case took another turn today. Owner Pat Bowlen‘s brother, Bill Bowlen, has filed a lawsuit requesting that the trust that currently controls the team be dismantled. Pat has been dealing with Alzheimer’s for years now, and a trust led by CEO Joe Ellis has been running the team. Bill is arguing that the trust was created illegally and is attempting to gain control of the team. Last month, the trust responded by asking a court to dismiss the lawsuit and send it to NFL arbitration for the league to mediate.
Today, Bill filed his response to that motion and argues that the NFL has no jurisdiction, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jhabvala’s full Twitter feed has all the details on the latest developments, and it’s worth checking out. The NFL opposes Bill’s attempts to disrupt thing, so presumable any NFL-led arbitration would not go well for him. The whole situation is a complicated legal mess, as several of Pat’s daughters are also jockeying for control of the team. The unresolved and tangled feuds have thrown the team into a state of limbo, and have given GM John Elway an unprecedented amount of job security as no owner can really fire him. League executives are reportedly bullish on 28-year old Brittany Bowlen‘s chances of taking over the team one day, but any resolution still seems a long ways away. There should be more updates soon as this makes its way through the courts.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Packers’ head coaching job is wide open and their defensive coordinator Mike Pettine has head coaching experience, but Pettine isn’t interested in the job, according to Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal. While Pettine said “despite the struggles we’ve had this year, this is probably the most fun I’ve had coaching in a long time”, he made clear he isn’t interested in being a head coach for the Packers or any other team anytime soon. Pettine’s two-year stint as coach of the Browns from 2014-15 went pretty disastrously, so it’s not that surprising he’s not dying to get back into it.
- Speaking of the Packers, the team worked out long snapper Zach Triner, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN (Twitter link). The Packers ultimately elected not to sign him Demovsky reports, and stick with current snapper Hunter Bradley. Triner, an Assumption College alum, competed for the gig with Bradley in training camp.
- The Chiefs have been very patient with star safety Eric Berry, and he appears to finally be nearing a return. Berry has sat the entire season with a heel injury, but the team never placed him on injured reserve. While Berry is unlikely to play tomorrow against the Ravens, he is “very likely” to make his season debut on Thursday against the Chargers, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link). One of the best safeties in the NFL when he’s healthy, it would be the first game Berry has played in since Week 1 of last season if he’s able to return for the pivotal AFC West clash that could determine who wins the division.
I’d love to hear Bill Bowlen’s rationale for how the NFL has no jurisdiction over any part of a process to ultimately decide who owns one of its own teams. This whole saga is getting very ugly, very quickly.
I’m far from a lawyer but I would guess the argument is that the NFL shouldn’t have a say in determining if the trust running the team should be allowed to continue.
Regardless of his opinion, having the league decide isn’t right, independent arbitrator or courts should decide.
The way the trust and Joe Ellis have run things and responded to the elder Bowlen daughter have shown that something is sketchy behind the scenes. However, I’m not quite sure Bill Bowlen has any legal ground to sue, especially since he willingly sold his shares years ago. If anything, maybe Beth Bowlen has some sort of legal grounds, but the burden of proof might be difficult to overcome in arbitration, especially if it goes to an NFL arbitrator.
Bill Bowlen really shouldn’t have any legal grounds for his suit considering he willingly sold his shares years ago. However, Beth Bowlen might have a leg to stand on considering how Joe Ellis and the trust seemed to blackball her already even though she meets the minimum requirements set forth by Pat and the trust when it was established.
The ultimate decision should not be determined by the NFL since there doesn’t appear to be anything being done against the NFL’s rules and bylaws. It’s not like the trust or any of the Bowlen family members have done anything to damage the NFL shield yet. Maybe if it was something like the Clippers and Donald Sterling, or even the issue with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys, the league would have grounds for involvement in the ownership decision, but more so in removing the trust as opposed to who would become the new owner.
I forgot what I was thinking to say, so does that qualify me for the Broncos ownership?